It seems we used up all messages on the 'sx40 vs fz150: raw images' thread (:-D), so here I am starting a new one, about how the two cameras compare in low-light filming. From my tests with both of them, it seems that, in order for the Pana to shoot videos in low-light that are bright enough to see, you need to use the Creative M mode with ISO5000 or 6400. To do that, you only need to shoot in P mode at ISO100 with the Canon.

To me this is a big plus for the Canon, as it means that, if shooting in mixed light conditions (e.g. filming inside a cave then continuing to film as you go out to daylight), there isn't really any one mode that's suitable for shooting with the Panasonic: you either shoot ISO100 and get really dark video in low-light, or shoot ISO5000 and get the same brightness as the Canon video, but then the bright part of the video will suffer from noise.

I've tried the Auto/I.iso options in the FZ150 but none of them really solves this problem, i.e. none allows noise levels that adapt to the light level. This suggests to me that the Panny is really only good for shooting scenes that are constant in terms of amount of light available.

I can post some samples if anyone is interested in this particular comparison between the two arch-rivals